Time Traveler
by Venus Smurf
Summary: Crappy early story. Don't read it. AU MinaMal
1. Meeting

"Time Traveler"  
   
Usual disclaimers, though, naturally, I wish I did own these characters!  
  
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CHAPTER ONE  
  
Mina fairly bounced all the way from her hotel to the lawyer's office, overjoyed that she was finally going to see her parents. She clutched at the crumpled and slightly sweaty telegram in her hands. She didn't even have to check the address of the corporate office, having read the telegram often enough to know it by heart.  
  
_Miss Aino:  
  
Please be at the __New York__ branch of our office no later than __5 p.m.__ of the 23rd of September. Your parents have important news for you.  
  
Sincerely,  
  
Joshua McMann_  
  
She stopped in front of a large, white building that seemed terribly oppressive to her ageless eyes. She slipped inside and headed for the information desk. "Hi!" she chirped in English to the young man behind the desk. "I have an appointment with Joshua McMann. Can you tell me which floor he's on, please?"  
  
The young man seemed to be having trouble breathing. Mina didn't notice, since this was a fairly common reaction to her classic good looks. "F- fourteenth f-f-floor," he stuttered. 

"Thank you." She smiled at him as she left, and he almost stopped breathing altogether.  
  
She took the elevator to the correct floor, quickly finding the office with McMann's name engraved in large black letters across the window. Her sharp knock on the door was answered by Mr. McMann himself.  She smiled warmly at him but couldn't help looking immediately around for her parents. All she saw was a richly decorated office devoid of people. Her smile died and the light left her eyes. "My parents aren't here, are they?" she asked in a wooden voice.  
  
The lawyer frowned, obviously hoping she wouldn't start to cry. "No, Miss Aino, I'm afraid they couldn't make it. Monsoon season where they are, you know. Did they not tell you what our meeting was for?" He sounded incredulous.  
  
"Have you actually met my parents?" she scoffed. "I haven't seen or heard from them since I was four." She sighed and threw herself into the nearest chair. "What did you want to tell me?" she asked wearily.  
  
The lawyer cleared his throat nervously. He opened his mouth to speak, but soon closed it again. "You're twenty-one now," he finally said. 

Mina cocked an eyebrow. "I'm aware of that, Mr. McMann. How exactly, does my age affect our current discussion? Are my parents cutting me off or something?" Her voice remained cool, though a twinge of bitterness could just barely be heard. The lawyer winced slightly, and Mina sighed again. So they are cutting me off. Oh well, its not like I ever used any of their money, anyway.  
  
"Not exactly," coughed the lawyer. "My information is more along the lines of how not to get cut off financially. You see," he clarified, pulling a manila folder from his desk drawers, "Your parents always planned to choose a suitable spouse for you, one who could protect both your money and their interests. Since you've now turned twenty-one, they figured that the time is appropriate for you to meet him." 

He handed the folder to her, and she pulled out a document, which clearly stated that she would not receive her inheritance unless she married one Malachite Dresner. "They've really crossed the line this time," she fumed, re-reading the name with narrowed eyes. "Do they honestly think that I'd sell myself out like this for money? I haven't relied on them since I was ten, and I certainly don't need to now. I won't do it."  
  
The lawyer hung his hands together nervously. "Won't you at least meet him?" She shook her head violently. He started to protest, but was interrupted as the phone rang insistently. 

"That'll be for me," Mina said, rubbing her fingers against her suddenly aching temple. The lawyer answered the phone, and then handed it questioningly to Mina.  
  
"Hi, Raye." Mina greeted her psychic friend in Japanese, knowing as she did that the lawyer was not bi-lingual. She knew that her friend had sensed her emotional turmoil. 

"Hey, Meens. Who's the guy?" 

Mina blinked, surprised. "What guy?"  
  
"The guy I saw with you in the sacred flames. The tall one with the silver hair. I couldn't see his face, though. Is he the reason why you had to meet your parents?" 

Mina shrugged, though of course she knew that not even Raye could see the movement. "My parents didn't show, and I don't recognize the guy you're talking about. Whoever he is, I haven't met him yet. Did the sacred flames tell you anything?"  
  
She could hear the doubt in Raye's voice. "Only that it's important that you go with him. Wherever he goes, you have to follow."  
  
"That's moronic. Still, it hardly matters. I haven't even met him yet. Listen, I've got to wrap things up here, then catch the red-eye back to Tokyo. I'll see you tomorrow, Raye-chan." She hung up, then turned to the lawyer. "If we have no further business, I've got a flight to catch." She bowed slightly in the Japanese custom, then started for the door, which opened to admit...  
  
Mina cursed silently to herself. It figures. The tall, silver- haired man stood in the doorway. She should have known that she couldn't get away from fate that easily. I'll bet anything that this guy is my 'chosen spouse', too. Sometimes I really hate those flames of Raye's.  She stood and glumly bowed to the man. "I assume that you're Malachite? I'm Mina, your future wife," she quipped facetiously.  
  
The man's jaw dropped along with the lawyer's. "B-but I thought that you didn't want to do it," the lawyer stuttered inarticulately. 

"So did I," Mina shrugged. "But my psychic friend just told me that I have to follow a tall, silver-haired man. I can only assume that it's you," she said, looking him over properly for the first time.  He was certainly handsome, though Mina didn't usually go for guys with hair longer than her own. He looked to be about ten years older than she, with surprisingly tanned skin and piercing silver eyes. He stared back, taking in her delicate features and silky blonde hair. "What do you get out of marrying me?" she asked as her blue eyes finished her sweep of his strong features and excellent physique. 

He seemed to snap out of his own reverie and answered in a smooth voice, "Your father's company, of course."  
  
"My father has a company? What does he do?" 

He blinked at her, though his expression hadn't changed much since he'd walked in the door. "You...don't know?"  
  
"Of course not. I've barely even met my father. For all I know, he could be a Mafia hit man."  
  
Malachite chuckled, and some of the extra years left his handsome face. "Nothing so mundane, I'm afraid. Your father designed military software. From what I've seen of his work so far, he's quite the genius."  
  
Mina cocked her head to one side. "What kind of software? Missiles and bombs?" 

Malachite mimicked her, cocking his own head mockingly. "Among other things," he said.  
  
Mina told herself that she shouldn't feel so...betrayed. She barely knew her father, had only seen him a handful of times, in fact, but the idea that he was designing the missiles used to kill so many people hurt her. She turned away so that her future husband wouldn't see the sudden tears in her eyes. "When's the wedding?" she asked instead. "I'd like to have it soon, before I lose my nerve, if it's alright with you."  
  
Malachite paused, then said, "We can have it now, if you like. I believe that Mr. McMann has taken the liberty of procuring the license and the justice of the peace. We just need to get a quick blood test."  
  
Mina turned back around. "Sounds good," she said, smiling weakly. He just nodded and pulled the door open for her. They were silent as they took the elevator back to the main floor. Mina found that she could not look at him. She felt almost ashamed of what she was doing, even though she'd only agreed to marry him because of Raye's somewhat vague vision. At least I can blame her if I'm miserable, she mused as she waved at the receptionist on her way out.  
  
Malachite led her to a sleek, silver Mercedes parked in front of the building. He opened the door for her again, then hopped around to the driver's side of the vehicle. They drove in a silence so oppressive that she wanted to scream. Finally, Mina broke it, saying, "Where are we going to live? I assume that we have to stay in America for whatever job you have." 

He glanced over at her, his knuckles white against the steering wheel. "I have a house on a beach near Los Angeles. We can stay there if you like. What about you, though? Can you leave school in the middle of the semester?"  
  
Her head whipped around and she glared at him. "Mr. McMann told me that you were a student at a university in Tokyo," he said defensively. 

"Oh," she said diffidently. "That'll save me a sentence or two, anyway."  
  
His knuckles tightened even more, and he abruptly pulled into an empty parking lot. She stared at him, surprised. "Listen," he said fiercely. "I'm not much happier about this arrangement than you are, and I willingly admit that this will be a marriage of convenience only. I don't expect you to love me, but I don't want you to hate me, either. We can at least try to be friends, can't we?"  
  
She continued to stare at him, but finally she smiled. "Friends, huh. I can always use more friends." She turned serious. "But to me, friendship doesn't necessarily mean that I have to tell you everything that I do. I have secrets, and I'd rather keep certain aspects of my life private. I will never betray any trust that you place in me, but I need to know that you're not going to pry into my life, either."  
  
He leaned back into his seat, and then quickly put the car back into drive. "I can respect that, for now, anyway. Still, it would help our relationship if I knew the basics. Where were you born?"  
  
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Mina never did catch that late night flight. Instead, she went with a near stranger to the city hall, where they were married by a fossil of a judge in an emotionally detached ceremony. Malachite pecked her cheek at the end of it, then drove her silently back to her hotel. To her surprise, he picked her up the next morning and drove to them both to the airport. They barely caught their plane to Japan on time.  
  
When the plane landed, they took a rental car to her apartment, though he politely offered to find a hotel for himself. Once they had unpacked their few belongings, he announced that he had a few errands to run. She just shrugged and asked him to meet her at the Cherry Hill Temple when he was done. She wondered when he'd been to Tokyo before. He certainly seemed to know where he was going. She'd have to remember not to use Japanese around him in case he actually understood it.  
  
She ran the entire way to the temple, knowing that Raye had already arranged a meeting between all of the others in their group. By the time Mina arrived, panting and out of breath, five people and two cats were already waiting for her. "Artemis!" Mina cried happily, and one of the cats jumped into her arms. She hugged him tightly, her fingers digging into his white fur until he started gasping from the pain of her hold. "Sorry, Artemis," she apologized meekly. "I just missed you, I guess." She followed the little cat back to the group, where she was repeatedly embraced by her friends. When the hugs finally stopped, the questions began. Thankfully, Raye had already informed the others of her marriage.  
  
"So you're really married? What's it like?" queried Lita, green eyes sparkling under wavy brown hair. 

Mina started to shrug, but stopped when she realized just how much she'd been doing that in the last few days. "It's polite, mostly. I don't know the guy well enough to like or dislike him."  
  
"What now, then?" Amy asked, tossing short blue hair from her deep blue eyes. "Are you going to America now?" 

Mina did shrug this time, not knowing any other way to express her confused feelings. "I suppose so. My 'husband' has some kind of job that he can't, or won't, leave. Besides, it's not like I can't go to school in America just as well as in Japan." She slumped onto the ground. "I think that I'm only going to be in Tokyo for a few days."  
  
"A few days!" Serena shrieked, tears welling up in her cornflower blue eyes. 

Darien wrapped his arms around her and laid his black head against her blonde one. "It'll be all right, love," he murmured softly. "I'm sure she'll be able to visit."  
  
Mina's shoulders fell even more. "That's just it, though. Being able to visit occasionally won't let me help you guys fight youma. I'll me able to pop in for the big things via Setsuna Express, but I'm essentially going to be leaving the scouts."  
  
"Look at it as a vacation," interjected Raye before Serena could start crying again. "If that doesn't help, at least consider yourself the first member of the American branch of our group."  
  
Luna, the second, purple cat joined in the conversation. "It's not like we can't use our communicators to chat once in a while. What?" she asked when they turned to stare at her in shock. "It's not like we're using our equipment improperly. Sailor Venus will need to be kept up to date, that's all."  
  
Lita jumped to her feet, instantly sensing the need for lighter conversation. "So, where's the farewell party going to be?"  
  
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Malachite mounted the stairs to the temple, quickly spotting Mina and a group of her friends at the top. She was chattering enthusiastically with another blonde girl in a lively manner quite unlike the serious, almost morose young woman he'd married. Mina looked up, spotted his tall frame, and waved slightly. Her companions turned to see whom she'd greeted, and even from this distance Malachite could see the color drain from their faces. The tall, dark-haired young man started to pull something from his green jacket, but Mina stopped him by laying an insistent hand on his arm. She murmured something quietly in Japanese, and all five people turned to gape at her in shock. A tall girl with brown hair leaped to her feet and started to yell at the top of her voice. "Do you know who that is?! He repeatedly tried to kill us, and you go out and marry him?! What's wrong with you?!"  
  
Malachite stopped in his tracks. _What?!_

Mina's golden voice was loud enough for him to hear her words clearly this time. "It's not him, Lita," she said, her voice full of hidden meanings.  
  
The brunette didn't listen, jerking away from the group violently. She started to charge with a speed that seemed almost sub-human. "Makato!" Mina suddenly yelled in fury. The girl stopped short, turning to face Mina with outrage. She started to yell again, using a clipped, foreign language that Malachite didn't recognize as Japanese. Mina yelled back in the same tongue, and soon all of the others had joined in, with the exception of the man, who just watched Malachite with suspicious familiarity and anger. Malachite didn't know what was going on, but he wisely decided not to intervene.  
  
After several moments of heated argument, the raven-haired girl barked out in Japanese, "This man is not our enemy. That general is dead. Let. It. Go." 

The arguments did not start up again, so Malachite walked hesitantly over to Mina's side. She was still exchanging death looks with the brunette, but she took Malachite's arm in a protective gesture. Ignoring his surprise, she pulled him back towards the temple stairs. "We're leaving. I'll see you guys tomorrow at the party," she said coldly. She pulled insistently on his arm, and they left. As they walked back to her apartment, he noticed that a small white cat followed closely at Mina's heels.


	2. Moving

CHAPTER TWO  
  
Mina fumed to herself for the next few hours while Malachite watched movies on her VCR. He'd questioned her about her friends' behavior, of course, but he eventually accepted the hint that her evasive answers were meant to be. When she'd almost paced a path in her carpet, though, he pulled her away and insisted that she help him make dinner for them both. She hadn't had anything to eat since her hasty breakfast back at the hotel in New York, so she readily agreed.  
  
He quickly found out that she was the type of person who shouldn't be allowed in a kitchen for any reason. She often mixed the measurements up or used the wrong ingredients altogether. In spite of this, he managed to make a decent meal. She insisted on eating by candlelight, and they both found themselves enjoying each other's company tremendously.  Still, she seemed to be hiding something from him. Every once in a while, she would stop talking halfway through a sentence and just watch him with a look of weary grief in her eyes.  
  
They talked for hours over that simple meal. When they finally realized just how late the hour was, they quickly started to clean up. Her dishwasher was broken, so they had to do all of the dishes by hand. She surprised him yet again when, with a completely serious face, she plopped a handful of suds on his hair. She started to laugh hysterically, clutching her sides for support. Naturally, he couldn't let her get away with that, so he returned the favor with an even bigger handful of bubbles. She stopped laughing and got a crafty look on her face. Within moments everything in the entire kitchen, with the notable exception of the dirty dishes, was covered with soap bubbles. Though it took them until after midnight to clean the mess up, the two were left with a feeling much closer to camaraderie than they'd have achieved otherwise.  
  
They woke up the next morning feeling more than a little groggy, but at least they were able to smile warmly at each other before heading to Mina's farewell party.  They parked Malachite's rented Mercedes outside of a building entitled, The Crown Arcade, in Japanese. Mina slipped out of the car and stood gazing at the building with affection. "I haven't been here in forever," she murmured softly as she scratched the chin of the white cat slung across her shoulders. She smiled at Malachite's questioning look. "My parents weren't around to stop me from practically living at this place all through junior high and high school. There was a guy who used to work here that eventually became as close as a brother to me. I'm certainly glad that I don't have to tell him that I ran off and got married with an acquaintance of less than half an hour." She pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head. "C'mon," she said, taking his hand and leading him inside. "I want you to meet my friends while they're in a good mood."  
  
She dragged him inside, where they were immediately surrounded by a crown of grief-stricken males. "Is it true, Mina?" one of them cried. "Are you really married?" 

Mina smiled brightly and slipped an arm around Malachite's waist. He caught the hint in her smile and put a possessive arm around her shoulders. She smiled at him again, relieved at his sensitivity, and chirped, "Meet Malachite, my husband."  Malachite glared at the admirers around him, and they quickly backed off. Nobody wanted to fight a man as big and well muscled as Mina's husband. 

Mina swallowed a laugh and led him to a booth in the far corner of the arcade, where a small group of people waited, fake smiles plastered on their faces.  When she saw their expressions, Mina snapped crossly, "Oh, come on guys! It's not him already!" Her cat jumped from her shoulders to the table, where he nuzzled a second, black cat affectionately.  
  
"He's not who?" asked a young man with sandy blonde hair as he came out of the bathroom. 

Mina squealed and ran to him, wrapping her arms around his neck with a glad, "Andrew!" The young man smiled and hugged her back. "When did you get back, Andrew? I thought that you weren't coming back from that medical school in the states for at least another year!"  
  
He hugged her again. "I came back with Darien. I couldn't exactly let my little sister get married without even meeting the guy, could I?" He looked at her sternly. "Are you happy, Mina?" he asked gravely. 

Mina glanced back at Malachite with a warm smile that made his knees go weak. "I will be," she said with certainty.  
  
The young man released her, scrutinizing Malachite closely. "You look awfully familiar," he muttered to himself. "Wait a second!" His face darkened. "You look like that guy that attacked Tokyo a couple of years ago!"  
  
The faces of those around him suddenly paled, and their bodies tensed nervously. "It's not him, Andy." Mina's voice was cautious. 

Andrew kept staring at Malachite. "But it is! I mean, look at the guy. If you stuck him in one of those ugly gray uniforms and gave him a cape, he'd be a dead ringer for the man." 

Mina sent a meaningful look at Darien. "It's not him, Andrew," she repeated firmly as Darien led the young man away from the table. The remaining girls stared at him reproachfully. After a tense moment, Darien came back for Malachite, taking him to the counter for what he called the 'Getting the Goods on Mina' conversation.  
  
Mina slid into the booth next to Raye. "Great job, guys," she muttered, glaring at the four girls around her. "At least this time you didn't start shouting at him in High Lunarian. I didn't even know that you remembered how to speak it," she said to Lita.  
  
Lita glared at her, but answered calmly, "I didn't until then. I guess that I just got mad and started using the language most natural to me." 

Amy nodded thoughtfully. "All we needed was one person to use the language for us to remember it," she said. "It's been a while since I've heard it."  
  
"That's because nobody's used it in over ten centuries. Why'd you have to use my old name, though, Mina? I don't go by Makato in this life. It brings back way too many memories of the Silver Millennium."  
  
Mina shrugged. "Like you said, I just got angry and used what was most natural. Think about it, Lita. I called you 'Makato' for over a thousand years. It's a hard habit to break." She sighed and glanced over to Malachite. "Just like Mal's a hard habit to break. A thousand years later, and I still love him so much it makes my heart ache."  
  
"Hold up a second," said Lita, crossing her arms over her chest. "Are you saying that you knew who he was, and you still married him?" 

Mina looked at her best friend sharply. "Of course, I knew. How could I not? When I said that he wasn't the same guy that attacked us, though, I meant it. He doesn't remember anything of the past, so I figured that Beryl just brainwashed him like she did Darien. I just haven't figured out how he could be alive."  
  
Amy thought seriously for a moment. "Each of us died during that final battle with Beryl, didn't we? But Serena's crystal brought us all back, right? Maybe her crystal also brought the generals back in the same way."  
  
Raye gripped the table with enough strength to leave dents. "Does that mean that the other generals have been resurrected, too?" She paled. "What if they're still evil? They could be anywhere on the planet, waiting for an opportunity to kill us."  
  
Mina shook her head in negation. "I don't think they'd remember anything, either. Plus, I think that we'll meet up with them sooner than later. Just like we were drawn to Serena and each other, they'll be drawn to Darien. With any luck, they've probably already met each other."  
  
Serena tugged on one of her buns. "I wonder how Darien is going to take all of this. I'm sure he misses his generals as much as I missed having you guys around when you still didn't have your memories. Maybe we shouldn't tell him just yet."  
  
Mina shook her head. "Darien's a smart guy. It'll only be a matter of time before he figures it out for himself. 'Sides, Serena, when was the last time that you were able to keep anything from him? One look at your face and he'll know something's up."  
  
The girls laughed at Serena's telltale blush, and Lita smiled apologetically at Mina. Mina smiled back, grateful that their fight was over. She didn't like having her best friend mad at her.  
  
Several hours later, Mina's friends gave her one last hug, and she and Malachite left. She still had to arrange for her transfer from the Tokyo University, pack her belongings, and arrange the flight back to the States. Malachite took off again, and he didn't come back until late that night. Mina packed only the things that she absolutely had to have with her, like photographs of her friends and her many suitcases' worth of clothes. The rest of her belongings could be sent for later, after she'd settled into her new home.  
  
When Malachite returned, he found his wife sitting on the floor, surrounded by literally hundreds of photographs. She was crying slightly, but she managed to smile at him as he came in the door. "I'm almost done," she said, putting the photographs into a cardboard box. "I called the airport. Our flight is at noon tomorrow." 

He nodded and bent to help her, glancing at one of the photographs in his hands. The picture was of a very large group of people, many of whom had been at the party earlier. Serena and Darien were in the center, and Mina and her three friends were positioned around them. Standing in the back were three tall, imposing women, and a little girl stood in the front. Four young women stood off to the side, two of them clutching a sign that said, "Four Sister's Cosmetics." Andrew and a young woman stood next to them, arms around each other. Three young men stood on the other side, one of them with his arms around Mina's shoulders.  
  
Malachite had to suppress an instant wave of jealousy as he saw how Mina smiled lovingly at the man, and how he grinned back at her. He held the photo out to Mina. "Who's that?" he asked, trying hard not to sound angry or jealous. 

She took the photo, smiling softly and tracing a finger along the faces of the people in it. "That's just my old gang." She put the photo into the box, and he asked no more questions. He stood and held out a hand to pull her to her feet. She accepted the hand, and then picked up the box and set it by the door with her other suitcases. She rubbed her neck with one hand, grinning ruefully. "I think I spent way too much time bent over. I'm going to bed. Good-night, Mal." She slipped into her bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her. He stood staring at her door for a few moments, wishing that she hadn't left so quickly, and then went into the spare bedroom and his own bed.  
  
He woke before dawn the next morning, fully expecting Mina to do the same, and finished getting ready for their flight. Three hours later, he finally knocked softly on her door to see if she were up. When she didn't respond, he pushed the door slowly open. The white cat followed him, meowing softly. He tiptoed over to the bed, wondering which lump of blankets contained his wife. Finally, he picked a lump at random, poking it to see if it moved. It stirred, and Mina's groggy voice pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Artemis."  
  
Malachite looked at the cat quizzically, and it gazed back at him with a look that clearly said, "Don't look at me. I've given up on trying to get her to wake in the mornings." Malachite shrugged, dismissing his obviously crazy thoughts, and yanked the blankets from Mina's bed. She opened her eyes slowly, glared at him, and jerked the covers back over her head.  
  
The cat gave a sound remarkably like a sigh and hopped off the bed. He padded over to a corner of the room and sat next to a small, empty bucket on the floor. Malachite took the bucket into the small bathroom down the hallway and filled it up with ice-cold water. He returned to Mina's room, yanked the covers down once more, and dumped the contents of the bucket over her head.  
  
Mina sat up with an ear-splitting shriek, spluttering and wiping water from her face, and started to shout at the cat. "Artemis! How many times have I told you not to do that! I was sleeping peacefully, and you…" Her voice stopped abruptly when she finally noticed just who was holding the bucket. "Hello," she said nervously.  
  
"Hello, yourself," he laughed. "Our plane is leaving in less than an hour, and I thought that maybe you'd like to be on it." 

She gasped and looked at her alarm clock and then dashed into her closet and pulled out the first outfit that she saw. She sprinted into the bathroom, clothes still in her hands, shouting, "Just give me a minute! Artemis, go get in your box, please!" The cat hissed in annoyance but obediently climbed into his cat box. Wow, that cat is really trained, Malachite mused as he grabbed the last of Mina's suitcases. She came out of the apartment just as he finished loading both boxes and cat in his car. Her still-wet hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her ever-present sunglasses perched on top of her head. Malachite managed to close his mouth before she saw. Even without make-up, she's beautiful. He helped her into his car, and they headed for the airport and their new life together.


	3. Nightmares

CHAPTER THREE  
  
This place is beautiful, Mina admitted to herself as she explored the three-story home on the beach. The house was light and airy, with widows opening to a magnificent view of the ocean. Mina loved it immediately. She grinned at Malachite, letting him know that as far as prisons went, this one was incredible. He smiled shyly back, pointing out some of the less obvious assets of the house. He led her to her bedroom, a large room with one entire wall made out of glass so she could see the beach. It was beautifully decorated, full of crystal vases and classical paintings. "Did you decorate this room yourself? It's perfect," she marveled, eyes shining. There was even a tiny cat bed for Artemis.  
  
He shrugged, embarrassed. "It just seemed to fit, that's all." She gave him a sharp look, wondering why he seemed to know everything about her. Does he remember anything of our old life? Is that why he always seems to know exactly what I'm thinking and what I like?  
  
"So, where's your room? Can I see it?" she asked, dismissing her thoughts as futile. He blinked, surprised, but obediently showed her his own bedroom. She suppressed a grin when she looked around. The room was completely bare and austere, echoing the hard shell he'd always built around his personality. She turned to him, pushing the memories away, and asked, "What do we do now?"  
  
He shrugged. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Let's have dinner, then hit the sack. The jet lag's killing me." 

She followed him out to the spacious kitchen, murmuring, "Does dinner include soap bubbles this time?"  
  
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"Stop, please! You're killing her!" 

Her screams woke him in the middle of the night. He flew to her room, alarmed that they weren't the screams of a simple nightmare, but screams of terror. He found her in her bed, her cat pawing anxiously at her arm. The cat looked at him with a helpless expression, meowing piteously. Malachite sat on the edge of bed, gently shaking Mina's shoulders. She didn't respond, still tossing wildly on her sweat-soaked bed. He shook her with greater force, but she still didn't wake up. "Stop, please stop! Leave her alone! _Serenity_!!!" The grief in her voice tore at his heart, but he still couldn't wake her up. "Goddess, no! Take me, not Serenity!" She started to sob helplessly. "Malachite, how could you?!"  
  
He stopped shaking her, shock stilling his movements. Whatever her nightmare was about, it clearly involved him. What has she gone through, to feel such pain? Her movements abruptly stopped, and he pulled away. A single tear rolled down her cheek, and she whispered intensely to the phantom in her dream, "_I loved you_."  
  
The cat meowed again, and the pain in the girl's face slowly eased. Her erratic breathing returned to normal, and she calmed. Malachite stood, knowing that she was fine. He quietly left the room, leaving the cat on Mina's bed.  
  
Grief weighed heavily on his own heart as he lay back in his own bed. He wasn't sure if the grief stemmed from Mina's obvious heartbreak, or if it came from those last three words. Who had she loved, and did she still love him? Malachite sighed, knowing that he could never fall back asleep now.  
  
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Mina woke, eyes gritty from her tears, and slipped out of her bed. She dressed quickly, choosing her clothes at random, and headed for the kitchen. Her throat ached from the screaming of the previous night, and she badly needed some water. Goddess. When are these nightmares going to stop? Every night it's the same thing. I don't know how much longer I can take it.  
  
She found Malachite already at the table, reading a newspaper. "I made breakfast already," he said, watching her closely. She wondered how much he'd heard. According to Artemis, she sometimes screamed loudly enough to wake the dead, and last night was one of those. Surprisingly, Artemis had been amazingly reticent about whether or not Malachite had heard anything.  When Mina continued to look at him blankly, Malachite sighed and set his paper down. "You had a pretty bad night, and I figured that you needed something hot in your stomach. Of course, I forgot that you don't wake up until noon," he joked, trying to lighten the mood.  
  
She smiled, relieved that he wasn't going to make a big deal of the night before. She grabbed a plate and filled it with cold eggs. "About last night," she started as she sat across from him at the little table. 

He held up a hand, interrupting her. "In the beginning, I promised not to interfere. I'm going to stick to that promise, even though I'm worried about you."  
  
She looked down at her plate, and then looked back at him with what she hoped was honesty in her gaze. "I don't really mind telling you about the nightmares. They've been with me for as long as I can remember, so I'm mostly used to them. I'm sorry that I disturbed your sleep, though."  
  
He stretched out a hand and gently held one of hers. "Don't worry about it. Have you seen somebody about it? Somebody who may be able to help you get rid of them?" 

She shook her head, saying, "Somehow, I don't think that there's anybody who can help with this. The dreams come from a place too deep within myself. Besides," she murmured to herself with revelation dawning on her face. "I don't think I'd really give them up if I had the chance. They're my link to…well, to before." She smiled ruefully. "Unfortunately, that's one of the things I can't talk about." 

She pulled her hand from his, and stabbed her fork into a lump of scrambled egg. "I can heat that up, if you like," he said, amusedly. "You don't have to eat cold eggs just to please me, you know." She just grinned and chomped down on the contents of her fork.  
  
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Their lives settled into a comfortable pattern. Every day, Mina would go to the local college, and Malachite would head to work. When he came home in the evenings, she would be waiting for him with her latest attempt at cooking. After a few days of this, he silently took over on the meals. She didn't seem to mind, especially since she couldn't stand her own cooking, either.  
  
After dinner, they would spend a few hours getting to know each other. Sometimes they went out, but usually they chose to just stay home and talk. They slowly learned each other's likes and dislikes, their personality quirks, and life goals. He found that she had an endearing and slightly confusing habit of mixing up her sayings. She had a fondness for English proverbs, but she mixed them up with an appalling regularity. She learned that he loved the opera, trips to museums, and, strangely enough, Disney movies. He never mentioned his job or the work that he did, and she never brought up her past.  
  
Every night, she would have a nightmare, although they weren't as violent as the first she'd had. Every night, without her knowledge, he would sit beside her on the bed, holding her hand, until she calmed and fell back into regular sleep. The cat, Artemis, usually sat with him on his silent vigil, and Malachite was often struck by just how human the cat behaved.  
  
One night, several months later, he and Mina were having dinner together. It was pretty late, but she'd ordered Chinese food for them both. In the middle of the meal, Mina's funny little watch started to beep. Malachite, who'd been sneaking bits of meat to Artemis, looked at her curiously. Mina gazed at her watch sadly, and Artemis padded over to her. She hugged him fiercely, and then quickly excused herself. Malachite watched her go, wondering at her abrupt change of mood. He cleaned up their mess, and then headed for bed. As he passed Mina's room, he heard her talking to someone on a tiny vidscreen on her watch.  
  
"…everything's alright? Nobody got hurt?" she was asking anxiously in Japanese. 

Malachite recognized Raye's voice. "We're fine," the other girl was saying. "The guy they sent was really stupid this time, and we killed him easily."  
  
A chill coursed through Malachite's body. Had he heard what he though he'd heard? Mina, meanwhile, shook her head slightly. "Something's not right. Why are they sending such weak agents against us? We haven't had to fight anyone really strong since Galaxia. What are we not seeing?"  
  
A third voice cut into their conversation. "Maybe there just isn't anyone that tough out there," Lita said. "Maybe we've already taken care of everyone out there who wants to stop us."  
  
Mina shook her head again. "I still say that we're missing something important. There's nothing I can do now, though. Call me if you notice anything suspicious." She turned the watch off, staring thoughtfully into space. Finally, she turned to her cat. "We're missing something, Artemis, something that could get us killed. I think that it's time we called in reinforcements." She grinned. "The Starlights are in California, aren't they? Maybe we should pay them a visit. Besides, I want Malachite to meet them in case something ever happens to me."  
  
Malachite jerked away from the door, quickly going to his own room. What was Mina talking about? Had she really killed somebody? What is she involved in?


	4. Changes

CHAPTER FOUR  
  
Malachite couldn't help feeling suspicious of Mina's behavior over the next week. She was even more absent-minded than usual, and she seemed to hide in her room more and more often. Malachite was almost relieved when she announced one night that they were going to a concert the next evening. He didn't question her too closely on her sudden desire to go out after spending so many days locked in her bedroom. Instead, he let her drag him all the way across the state to the concert.  
  
When they finally arrived at the concert, Mina led him around to the back door of the building. A huge man with impossibly big muscles and a stern face glared at Malachite with folded arms. When Mina popped around from behind Malachite's back, though, the man's pierced and tattooed face split in a grin. "Mina!" he cried, wrapping his huge arms around the tiny girl's body. "What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in months!" 

She grinned and hugged him back. "I just stopped in to see Yaten," she said. "Is he around?"  
  
"For you? Always," the big man answered. He glared at Malachite. "Who's this?" he asked suspiciously. He seemed quite eager to kill Malachite then and there. 

Mina laughed at the big man's expression. "That's Malachite, my husband. I wanted him to meet Yaten. Can we go see him now, Bull's-eye?"  
  
Bull's-eye glared at Malachite for a moment longer, and then shrugged and led them inside. "Yaten's not going to be happy that you got married, Meens. I hope you're ready to deal with three angry Starlights." 

Mina just sighed. "I couldn't wait for him forever, Bull's-eye. It's too long."  
  
Bull's-eye led them backstage to the main dressing room, saying only, "They're due on stage in five minutes, Mina, so you'd better make it fast." He glanced back at Malachite. "Maybe he should stay with me. I don't want to upset Yaten right before he goes on stage." 

Mina took Malachite's arm. "He goes with me, Bull's-eye. I'm not going to hide my husband from him."  
  
"Have it your way, luv," Bull's-eye shrugged. He opened the door for them and departed with one last glare at Malachite. "You'd better take good care of her, pal. I don't want to hear that you've hurt her in some way." Malachite just nodded, not at all afraid of the big man. He followed Mina into the dressing room, where three young men waited expectantly to find out who their visitors were. When they saw Mina, their faces immediately cracked into wide grins.  
  
One of the men, a silver haired, handsome youth, immediately wrapped his arms around Mina. "Mina! What are you doing here?" 

Mina laughed in delight. "I can't breathe, Yaten!" 

He let her go, and then noticed Malachite for the first time. His face, which Malachite now recognized from Mina's photograph, darkened immediately. "Who's your friend, Meens?" he asked suspiciously. 

Mina turned and held a hand out for Malachite. He stepped forward, wrapping his arms possessively around her waist. She's mine, the expression in his eyes clearly said.  
  
"Yaten, meet my husband, Malachite." Malachite pulled one arm from Mina's waist, and held it out to Yaten. 

Yaten took the hand reluctantly, saying to Mina, "Well, it's good to see you, Meens. It's been…a long time."  
  
She smiled sadly back at him. "Too long, I think." 

The door opened, and Bull's-eye called out, "It's time, guys." 

Yaten shrugged. "I guess we'll have to finish this conversation later, Mina. Are you staying for the concert?" 

She nodded. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, Yaten." He smiled briefly, and then nodded coolly to Malachite on his way out the door.  
  


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Mina enjoyed the concert tremendously. She cheered and clapped until her voice was raw. Malachite, however, didn't seem to enjoy the singing at all. I wonder why he doesn't like them, she wondered as she watched him glaring at the performers on the stage. She shrugged. It's got to be a guy thing.  
  
After the concert, they threaded their way backstage again, where the Three Starlights were waiting patiently for them. Malachite coolly complimented them on their performance, and then headed across the room so that Mina and Yaten could have a moment alone. One of the other Starlights, Seiya, quietly headed over in Malachite's direction. "You're not exactly what I would have pictured for Mina," he said without preamble.  
  
"Oh?" Malachite asked, still using that chilling voice of his. "What would you expect for Mina?" 

Seiya looked closely at him. "Not you, that's for sure." He glanced back in Mina's direction. "I'm sorry if I sounded rude just now. It's just that Mina and Yaten…well, let's just say that they were close."  He was silent for a moment, contemplating. "Do you know what she is?" he asked abruptly. 

Malachite's head whipped around. "What are you talking about?" he asked angrily. 

Seiya looked taken aback by the fierceness of his tone, but he merely shrugged. "Nothing.  Forget that I said anything." He headed back in Mina's direction, where she was having a heated discussion with Yaten. Seiya joined in the conversation, soon becoming as animated as they. 

Malachite listened as closely as he could, but he couldn't make out more than an occasional phrase. After a few minutes, Mina stopped talking and gave each of them a hug. She pulled away, and then headed back to Malachite. The three singers walked them to the exit, Yaten murmuring quietly to Mina. "Don't worry, Meens. Serena and the others can take care of themselves. If you're so worried, though, we'll head back to Japan and look after them."  
  
Mina smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks, Yaten. Just do me a favor and don't let Seiya hang around Serena, okay? He's really not good for Darien's blood pressure," she laughed. She waved one last time at them, and Malachite quickly walked her to his car, trying to get the image of how Yaten was obviously pining over Mina out of his head.  
  
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Things seemed to go back to normal for the next few months. Mina's preoccupation appeared to have evaporated, and she spent more time than ever with Malachite. She still had nightmares, but she no longer spent so much time having heated conversations with her friends.  
  
Six months after their hurried wedding, two women came to their home looking for Mina. "Omara! Michelle! Come in!" Mina seemed overjoyed to see them, quickly escorting them to the small office on the second floor. Malachite settled nearby with a book and the cat, who seemed ill inclined to join them. He frequently heard Mina's golden laughter echoing from the room. After a while, though, he only realized there was only silence. The cat, too, stopped washing itself and pawed anxiously at the door to the office, worried. 

Mina came out eventually, her face painfully serious for such a sunny person, and headed for her room. She came out again a few moments later, a hastily packed suitcase in her hands. She pulled on a jacket, and then turned to Malachite. "I have to go to Japan for a few days on personal business," she said. "Take care of Artemis for me while I'm gone, will you?" 

He nodded, mindful of his promise, and they headed for the door. "Do you need a ride to the airport or anything?" he asked her.  
  
She shook her head. "Omara has a car," she said, indicating the tall, blonde woman with a jerk of her head. She finished putting on her coat, and then turned to Malachite with a sad smile. "Thanks for everything, Mal," she said. She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him lightly. "I'll be back in a couple of days," she said as she left him alone with a heavy heart and a small, white cat.  
  
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After three days without any contact from Mina, Malachite was really starting to worry. He had no idea of how to contact Mina's friends in Japan, and he wasn't having any luck with her friends in America. His only comfort was that she hadn't taken her cat with her. As attached as she was to the little beast, he knew that she'd do her best to come back for it if she could.  
  
After five days, he was ready to call the police. Just as he was heading for the phone, though, he received a call that changed everything for him. He dropped the receiver, not even bothering to hang it up, and ran to his car. He drove as quickly as he could to the airport, boarding the first flight available to Japan. When he finally arrived, hours later, he took a cab to one of the local hospitals in Tokyo. It was the middle of the night, but the nurse on duty quickly led him to a small, private room in one of the smaller wings.  
  
"I'm really glad that they were able to find you," the nurse said as she opened the door. "She doesn't seem to have any memory of who she is or where she came from, and we didn't have any hope of actually finding her family. Speaking of family, is there anyone else that we can contact for you?"  
  
Malachite shook his head as he gazed down on the pale, golden-haired figure of his wife on the bed. "I'm her only family," he said quietly. Her parents certainly didn't count, and he didn't trust her friends.  
  
He slumped into the hard, plastic chair by her bed and took her motionless hand in one of his own. "What's wrong with her?" he asked the nurse anxiously. The nurse smiled sympathetically, touched by the pain in his eyes. He must really love her, she thought to herself.  
  
"That's the really odd thing. Besides her obvious memory loss, she's perfectly fine. She doesn't have so much as a cut or scar on her entire body, and we can't explain why she doesn't remember anything."  
  
The girl on the bed stirred, opening guileless blue eyes. She looked around, smiling at the friendly nurse, and then locked eyes on Malachite. "Hello, there, love," she whispered hoarsely.  
  
He blinked in surprise. "Do you remember me, Mina?" he asked, exchanging a confused look with the equally surprised nurse. 

Mina smiled at them both. "Of course, I remember you, Malachite," she laughed. "I love you."  
  
Malachite's heart constricted painfully. "Can you give us a minute?" he asked the nurse, and she quickly left with a nod. "Do you feel alright, Mina?" he asked her. 

She frowned slightly at him. "I'm fine. Why do you keep calling me Mina? That's not my name."  
  
He gaped at her, some of his worst suspicions confirmed. "What is your name, then, love?" he asked, watching her intently as her eyes widened. 

"Minako, of course. What's wrong with you, Malachite? Where's the other senshi? Where's the princess?"  
  
"What princess? Where'd you go, Meens? You've been gone for nearly a week, and just when I'm about to call the police I get a call saying you're in a hospital on the other side of the planet. What happened?"  
  
She was still staring at him in shock. "What do you mean, 'what princess'? Where's Serenity?" she asked, sitting up in her bed and pushing away from him. "Who are you, and where's the princess?"  
  
"I think you're hallucinating, Mina. Let's go home, and you can play with Artemis. He's missed you, I think." 

She calmed at the mention of her cat, murmuring, "I've missed Artemis, too. It's been awful since he left for the moon."  
  
He ignored her last comment, leaving her just long enough to arrange for her release. They were home by the afternoon of the next day. As soon as she walked in the door, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately. 

He couldn't help responding with all of the love that he'd been bottling up. Sweeping her into his arms, he carried her back to her bedroom.  
  
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Minako woke up during the night, finding herself held tightly in her husband's arms. She gazed at his face for a few moments, enjoying the peacefulness that was rarely in his features during the daylight hours. She smiled contentedly and started to snuggle back into his arms. She was almost asleep again when a small white cat slipped into the room and jumped onto the bed.  
  
"Artemis," she hissed. "What are you doing here, and in cat form, no less? You're supposed to be celebrating your honeymoon on the moon with Luna. She'll kill me if you don't get back quickly."  The cat just meowed, sending a meaningful look back at Malachite. She sighed, and got out of the bed to follow her guardian into the hallway. "What's going on, Artemis? Why is everyone acting so strangely?"  
  
She knelt on the floor by the cat, who padded softly over to her. A tiny, crescent moon on his forehead began to glow, sending a beam of pure white energy to a matching spot on the girl's own forehead. The beam hit her skin, and a glowing, golden symbol burst into existence above her eyes in a brilliant flare of light. After a moment, both beam and symbols faded, leaving a stunned Mina in its wake.  "Goddess," she whispered. "How could I forget everything like that?" she frowned down on the cat. "I died again, didn't I?" she asked sadly. "There was another major battle, and we all died protecting Serena. I remember now." She glanced back in the direction of her bedroom. "Wait a second," she said suddenly in alarm. "I didn't…did I? With Malachite?" The cat nodded, and Mina rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "How in the world am I going to explain that one?"  
  
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The bright lights coming from the hallway woke Malachite from a sound sleep. He stretched a hand to Mina's pillow, feeling the warmth that she'd left and seeing the clothes strewn haphazardly around the room. At least it wasn't a dream. I couldn't take that. He heard voices coming from outside the room, so he pulled on wrinkled pants and silently walked to the door.  
  
"…and that was just the beginning. The real menace is still roaming freely around Tokyo, and the other senshi don't remember anything. Luna's probably helped with Serena, but I don't know about the other girls, or about Darien. We've got to get there fast." The smooth male voice coming from the hallway alarmed Malachite, and he quietly pulled the door open. He saw Mina crouched in the hallway, her cat at her feet. Whoever had been speaking was obviously gone now, though Mina responded as though the person were still present.  
  
"We don't have any time to waste, Artemis. I'll have to teleport over there immediately." She stood with her back to him, pulling the cat onto her shoulders. 

"You've never teleported that far by yourself, Meens. You could end up somewhere in the middle of the ocean and drown!" The male voice spoke up again, and Malachite had to assume that it came from some kind of listening device secreted on Mina's person. Of course, since she was only wearing one of his large t-shirts, he couldn't imagine where she was hiding it.  
  
Mina headed for the balcony. "I'll just have to wing it, Art. I don't have a choice." She leaped for the balcony railing, using one hand to do a back flip while the other hand held tightly to the cat. She flung herself over the railing, and Malachite rushed over as quickly as he could, dreading the thud of her body landing on the hardwood floors of the first story.  
  
The sound didn't come.  
  
He gripped the railing, but the first floor was too dark for him to see anything. He ran for the stairs, taking them three at a time until he finally came to the bottom. His heart stopped beating for a second when he saw Mina, cat still on her shoulder, running quickly for the front door. She threw up a hand as she ran, shouting in her beautiful voice, "Venus Crystal Power!" A tiny stick topped by a ball flashed from nowhere into her hand, and great ribbons of golden light swirled from the tip. The light flared around her body, glowing so brightly that he had to look quickly away. When he finally managed to open his eyes, his face paled in shock.  
  
Mina was wearing a feminine, slightly revealing version of an old- fashioned sailor's uniform. Most of the uniform was white, except for the short golden skirt and two large, slightly paler bows covering the chest and back. A tiara with a glowing, golden jewel in the center completed the outfit.  
  
Mina must have heard his gasp, for she turned suddenly to face him. Malachite got a good look at her face for the first time since she'd pulled out that funny stick. Her face didn't exactly look different, just more…well, more something. She looked like herself, just now she was an ageless version of Mina. Her eyes were ancient, and filled with something akin to regret. The truly scary thing was that her eyes hadn't really changed, and there was something disturbingly familiar about her now. Malachite felt as though he should recognize her, but he didn't. "Malachite, I can explain," she said in her equally ageless voice. If I had to picture a goddess, that's what she'd look and sound like, he thought irrelevantly.  
  
The cat jumped from her shoulders onto the floor, and it looked at him with large, almost human, blue eyes. "We don't have time for this, Minako," he said. 

Malachite gaped at him. "Did that cat just…talk?" 

Mina sighed and glared briefly at the cat. "Like I said before, I'll explain everything, but I have to go now, Mal. Trust me, this is not something that you want to get involved in." 

She started to head for the door again, but stopped when the door flew open on its own. Mina assumed a fighting stance, but relaxed when she saw the whirling vortex coming from the other side. "It's about time," Mina said crossly.  
  
An older version of the little girl with pink hair from Mina's old photograph poked her head through the door. She was wearing a similar outfit to Mina's, though hers was in pink and white and she had feathers in her hair. "C'mon, Minako! Serena needs us!" She stretched out a hand and pulled Mina through the door, which started to swing shut behind them. Acting on an impulse, Malachite grabbed the cat by the fur and leaped after them…


	5. Dinner and a Story

CHAPTER FIVE  
  
He could just make them out, the little girl and Mina and another strange woman with some sort of giant key. They were running in the opposite direction, and were quickly lost in the freezing fog that flowed everywhere in this place. What place? Where am I? Malachite clutched at the cat, prompting it to emit a gasping, "Let me go! You can't help them where they're going, so we might as well just turn around before we get lost!"  
  
Malachite stopped running, and held the cat up until it was even with his eyes. "What are you, where are we, what was that light show, and what is Mina involved in?" he asked angrily with a single breath. 

"Put me down and I'll tell you," the cat hissed.  
  
Malachite dropped the cat, but kept a close eye on it in case it tried to run away. "In order: I'm Artemis, Mina's guardian. We're in the gateway of time; the light show was just Mina taking on her other form, Sailor Venus, and Mina is a sailor scout."  
  
Malachite glared at the unenlightening answers. "What's a sailor scout?" he asked angrily. 

The cat sighed. "Look, I'll answer all of your questions as soon as we're out of here. It really isn't safe to wander around the time gate for too long. Things tend to happen around here that aren't exactly good for our health." The cat turned and started walking back in the direction from which they'd come. The last doorway was still there, but it was fading fast. With difficulty, Malachite pulled it open to reveal his front door. He picked up the cat, and together they returned to a reality that Malachite could understand.  
  
"That's weird," Malachite muttered. "When we left, it was still dark. It's now mid afternoon, at least." 

The cat shrugged. "That's the way the gate works, and why we shouldn't stay there too long." He jumped to the floor. "I'm hungry. Let's go get something to eat while we wait for Mina to come back. It could be a while, especially if she dies again."  
  
Malachite looked at the cat sharply. "What do you mean, dies again? How can someone die twice?" 

They entered the kitchen, and Malachite stopped questioning the cat as he noticed the two children perched at a noticeably larger kitchen table. The first child, a young man of about fifteen with silver hair, was listening to earphones as he worked from a textbook. The second child was a little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl, who was only about three years old, was scribbling fiercely in a coloring book. When she saw Malachite, she held the picture up for him to see. "Look, Daddy! I made a picture for you!"  
  
While Malachite stood gaping at her, the boy glanced up at them and pulled the earphones down to his neck. "Oh, hey, Dad. I thought you were in Tokyo with Uncle Darien. How come you're back so soon? Did you miss your flight?"  
  
As Malachite continued to stare at them in shock, a look of horrific realization dawned on the boy's face. "You're not my dad," he said, as he placed himself between Malachite and the little girl. "Mom!" he yelled, pulling the girl from her high chair. "Mom!" he yelled again, much more frantically this time. "Artemis," he said to the cat at Malachite's feet. "What's going on? Why are you a cat? Who is this guy?" Artemis, of course, wasn't much help, especially since he was gaping at the boy with as much shock as Malachite.  
  
A woman's voice came from the one of the other rooms. "Matt? What's wrong?" The boy started backing toward the back door, the child struggling frantically in his arms. The door opened, and a woman who looked like Mina's twin came into the kitchen, a vase full of flowers in her hands. She set the vase on a low table, and turned to smile at Malachite.  
  
Malachite stared at her, noting the resemblances to his wife. She looked like Mina, but there were subtle differences in her face. He frowned, trying to place the differences. I've got it, he thought suddenly. She looks like Mina did after she used that stick thing.  
  
The woman smiled at the man and the cat, saying to her son, "It's okay, Matt. This guy's just a younger version of your father who got lost in the time gate. Setsuna told me weeks ago that he'd be dropping by, but it slipped my mind." She nodded to Artemis. "Hello, Artemis. It's been a while since you've been in cat form." She turned to her son. "Why don't you take Arrow and go play outside? I've got the feeling that I'm going to be answering a lot of questions."  
  
The boy nodded, gathering up his sister's things. "You know," he said to Malachite, "It can be really weird sometimes, having a mom who thinks time travel is normal." He turned and left the room.  
  
Mina took Malachite's arm and led him to the sitting room. Malachite glanced quickly around, noting the changes that had been made. Mina sat on one of the couches, gesturing for him to do the same. Artemis hopped onto the space between them. "Okay, first question first," Mina said. "I guess you're wondering where you are?" Malachite nodded. "Try to keep an open mind," she advised him kindly. "You and Artemis took the wrong gate back to your time, and you ended up here. The boy that you startled is our son, Matthew, and the girl is our daughter, Aphrodite. We call her Arrow; it's the only version of her name that she will use."  
  
Malachite stood and paced over to the window, unnerved by the woman's Mina- like gaze. From where he stood, he could see the boy shooting hoops in the driveway while the little girl played in a sandbox nearby. The boy saw him and waved slightly. He waved back, unsure of how to handle this situation. Life certainly hasn't been dull since I married Mina, he thought.  
  
"So, how do I get back?" he asked as he turned around. 

The woman thought for a moment, and then replied, "I suppose you just wait until Setsuna can come and get you. Of course, that may be awhile. She's pretty busy right now." She grinned at his confused look, and Malachite had to remind himself that this wasn't his Mina. "I guess that now you want to know who Setsuna is, right?"  
  
Both Malachite and Artemis sighed. "Maybe I should take it from here for a while, Minako. You tend to be a bit vague when you try to explain things." 

Minako gave a characteristic shrug. "Okay, Artemis, but I still don't go by Minako in this life. Still," she added thoughtfully. "It might be slightly less confusing for Mal if I used that name for now."  
  
Artemis sighed again. "See what I mean?" he asked Malachite. Malachite just nodded, knowing Mina's confusing habits of speech well. "As I was saying, I'll take over from here." Malachite sat back down, noting the seriousness of the cat's voice. Geez, I can't believe I just used a phrase like 'cat's voice'!  
  
"Okay," the cat said. "A thousand years ago, there was a great civilization made up of all the planets in the solar system except for Earth. It was called the Silver Alliance, and its base was on the moon. The queen of the moon, Selenity, was an incredible woman, and she kept the peace in the solar system for over a thousand years using a magical crystal that only members of her line could use."  
  
An insistent beeping interrupted the cat's narrative, and Minako jumped to her feet with a muffled, "My dinner!" She ran off in the direction of the kitchen. 

A moment later, the boy, Matthew, ran into the room and pulled on Malachite's shirt. "Dad!" he shook his head slightly in confusion. "Malachite, I mean. If you really are my dad, then you know that Mom's food is poisonous. Can you please come and take over? We won't survive the night if you don't."  
  
Malachite grinned and went with the boy, glad that at least some things hadn't changed. He entered the kitchen, where Mina was trying frantically to save a burned casserole that couldn't possibly have looked that good in the first place. She gave him a relieved look when he took over, but still said, "I can do it, you know. My Malachite taught me a few things about cooking over the years. I can cook perfectly well, now."  
  
Malachite, Matthew, and Artemis just looked at her. 

She made a face at them all, then sat at a stool by the stove. Her son did the same, watching Malachite as he diced a few vegetables. "How far did you get?" Minako asked Artemis. 

The cat shrugged. "Not far. We only made it to the part about the Silver Alliance before someone interrupted us," he said sarcastically. 

Minako stuck her tongue out at him.  "My turn, then. Anyway, you heard about Queen Selenity, right?" Malachite nodded. "Okay, then. Since Selenity obviously couldn't protect everyone or be everywhere at once, she created an army of elemental warriors from each planet. From each planet, Selenity selected a single, incredibly strong warrior. These fighters were called the planetary senshi, and they were powerful enough to destroy an entire planet with a thought. For over a thousand years, these senshi kept the peace in the solar system, protecting it from every threat."  
  
Malachite nodded thoughtfully. "Is that where you came in? Are you a senshi?" 

Minako shook her head. "That's _almost_ where I come in. You see, most of the peoples on these worlds had about the same lifespan as a human, with the sole exception of the royal families. The average royalty lived for the space of two or three lifetimes. That's what made them such good rulers. They could look at the big picture when everybody else got caught up in unimportant details. It also kept our civilizations stable, since things only changed drastically once every three or four hundred years."  
  
Artemis interrupted her. "You're getting caught up in the unimportant details, yourself, Minako." 

She frowned. "You're right, sorry. I was just trying to give him a little back round info, that's all. As I was saying, the royalty lived for a long time, but so did the planetary senshi. Each planet had this nasty little prophecy that said that when the day came that the planetary senshi was also royalty, the planet itself would be destroyed."  
  
Malachite blinked. "What did this have to do with you? Are you royalty, as well?" 

Minako nodded sadly. "Yep, I was royalty. I was born during the first two hundred years of the Silver Millennium. I was also the crown princess of Venus."  
  
Malachite stared at her. "You're a princess?" he gaped. 

"I was. I was also the senshi of Venus, and that scared a whole lot of people on my planet. But that wasn't the worst of it. There was a second prophecy that predicted a great war between the Alliance and the Earth. It said that one day each of the senshi of the inner planets would be royalty, and that their human lovers would betray and murder them, resulting in the fall of the Silver Alliance."  
  
Malachite put his knife down. "And did it come true? Was the Alliance destroyed?" 

Minako nodded again. "Yes, it was. The princess of the moon fell in love with one of the princes of Earth. When he came to visit her on the moon, he brought his four generals along with him. The generals were everything the senshi could have wanted, and the generals quickly fell for them, too. They might have been able to stop themselves if they'd known about the prophecies, but the queen had decided that it would be safer, and more comfortable, for everyone involved if they remained ignorant. Not that I blame Selenity," she added hastily. "I probably would have done the same in her place."  
  
Malachite finished scooping the vegetables into a frying pan. He started to cook, saying over his shoulder, "So what happened?" 

Minako looked to Artemis, and he quickly took over for her. "There was a noblewoman back on Earth that wanted the prince, too. When she learned that Endymion, the prince, had fallen for the moon princess, she went insane with jealousy and sold her soul to the dark forces. They gave her the power to kill the princess in exchange for her help in destroying the Silver Alliance. There were a few little battles at first, but even with the dark forces, Beryl couldn't defeat the senshi or the queen. Eventually, though, Beryl learned of the blossoming relationships between the senshi and the generals. She kidnapped the generals, though we're still not sure how, and brainwashed them into believing that the senshi and the prince were evil." 

He stopped, overcome by the memories, so Minako started to speak again.  "Each of the generals had been given a device that would let them through the shields around the moon. Since we didn't know yet that they were evil, we didn't think to deactivate them. The generals used the devices to break into the palace, taking the minions of the dark with them. During the battle, Beryl tried to get Endyimon over to her side. He refused to leave the princess, Serenity, so she killed him. The princess was unwilling to live without him, so she threw herself into the blast that had killed him. We felt her die," Minako whispered, tears thick in her golden voice.  
  
Artemis, too, had tears in his eyes. "Even after a thousand years, it still hurts," he murmured. "Anyway, by this time the senshi had realized the truth about the generals, and they set out to kill their lovers. The generals knew them too well, though, and were able to trick them. The generals killed the senshi, one by one, until only Minako here was left. Her general wanted her to watch the deaths of her friends and princess, so he didn't kill her for a long time."  
  
Minako wiped her eyes. "Yes, it took him a very long time to kill me. He made me watch while every planet was destroyed, and then he ran my own sword through my heart." She closed her eyes briefly, fighting the pain of the memory, but continued with the story. "I was dead by this time, of course, but Artemis here told me what happened afterwards. The silver queen, by some fluke, had survived through all of this. We were dead, and the solar system was destroyed, but Beryl's forces still lived. Selenity used her crystal to send Beryl and her minions back into the dark plane, sealing them in with her own life energy. She also sent the souls of the children of the moon to Earth in the future. She gave us each the gift of immortality, hoping that we'd be able to keep the Earth safe if Beryl ever escaped. Unfortunately, using the crystal so much drained her, and she died soon afterwards."  
  
Malachite finished the stir-fry and started dishing it out onto the plates that Matthew handed to him. As they sat at the table, Malachite asked, "If you're immortal, how come Artemis said that you keep dying? I thought immortals couldn't die." He was having a difficult time absorbing all of this.  
  
Mina took a bite of her vegetables. She swallowed, and then answered, "We can die, but we're reincarnated each time. Oh, we don't have to start life over as babies, but we can't usually remember what happened, either. Artemis and Luna, Serenity's guardian, have to restore our memories. It's really annoying and inconvenient."  
  
Malachite nodded. "Yes, I can see how dying can be inconvenient. What happened to Beryl and the generals?" he asked, less sarcastically. 

Mina took another bite of her food. "Well, Beryl managed to break through the barrier when I was fourteen. She sent the generals, who had been sealed with her, to attack the Earth. She wasn't up to her original strength, and she needed a lot of human energy to regenerate. One by one, Luna woke the other senshi, along with the princess, and they started to fight her. I, in the meantime, was living in England, until Artemis showed up one day. I was the first one to remember, but Beryl wasn't strong enough to worry about back then, so I fought crime in London for a while. When it looked like the other senshi needed help, I moved to Tokyo." She chewed thoughtfully on her food for a moment. "We fought Beryl, but we died in the process. Selenity's gift still stood, though, so we were brought back. Ever since then, we've been fighting the forces of the dark. We get stronger each time we die, but so do the bad guys."  
  
Malachite cut the little girl's food into smaller bites, noticing the way she watched him with pure worship in her eyes. "What about the generals? You still haven't mentioned them much."  
  
Minako looked away, unwilling to answer. Artemis chipped in, instead. "The generals tried to kill the senshi again, of course. This time, though, the senshi couldn't remember them, nor were they bound by emotions. They defeated the generals, one by one. Since Selenity's gift extended to the generals, as well, we can only assume that they were reborn. In our time, we still haven't found three of them."  
  
Malachite frowned, trying hard to remember how many there were originally. "So that leaves the…fourth? What happened to him?"  
  
Matthew smirked. "Look in the mirror, dad."  
  
Malachite jerked to his feet, spilling his food on the floor. "What?!" 

Minako glared at her son. "You're the fourth general, love."


	6. Schoolyard Brawls

CHAPTER SIX  
  
Hours later, Malachite was still shaking. Did I really do all that they said? Did I kill Mina in a past life? Am I the cause of her pain?  
  
Arrow insisted that her 'dad' sing her a lullaby and put her to bed. Malachite sat with her until she fell asleep, amazed that this beautiful, precocious little girl was a part of him. In spite of all that's happened, he thought, this life looks incredible. My future self has everything: an amazing wife, two beautiful children. Why in the world would I want to jeopardize this?  
  
Minako entered the room, a cut of steaming tea in her hand. She handed the cup to him, and stood watching their sleeping daughter for a moment. "Setsuna just called. She'll come and pick you up in two days. My husband won't be back for at least that long, so things won't be awkward for you, at least." She sighed. "Cheer up, Mal. I forgave you a long time ago, and I know that your Mina has, too."  
  
He turned to her, grief stark in his eyes. "How could you forgive me after what I did to you? I'm responsible for millions of deaths! How can anyone forgive me?" 

Minako pulled him from the room, shutting the door behind her. Artemis padded up the stairs as she motioned for Malachite to keep his voice down.  "Look, Mal," she said, "that was a lifetime ago, and the guy that killed me wasn't really you. Beryl did things to your mind that no one could have resisted. Ask Endyimon. There was a period when he was under her control, too."  
  
"Endyimon? You keep mentioning him and the princess, but I don't know who they are. Will I meet them?" Minako smiled, relieved that he'd let go of the guilt for the moment. "You already have. Serenity is now known as Serena, the blonde girl that you met the day after our first wedding. Endyimon is also Darien, her fiancé."  
  
Malachite blinked. "Our first wedding?" 

Minako continued to smile. "We-well, _I_-decided that we needed to have a proper ceremony with all of our friends cheering us on. We waited only until Matthew was born, and I could fit into a non-maternity dress again." 

Malachite glanced down at Artemis. "When was Matthew born?" he asked.  
  
Minako thought for a moment. "In reference of a timeline that you can understand? He was born exactly nine months after you brought me home from that hospital."  
  
Minako grinned at his expression. "Mina's pregnant?" His heart tightened with the sheer joy of the moment. _Mina's pregnant_! I'm going to be a father! "Does she know?"  
  
Minako shook her head, still grinning. "Not yet. You can tell her when she comes back." 

Malachite's silly expression was suddenly wiped off his face. "Mina's out there, fighting, and she's pregnant! Are they going to be alright?!"  
  
Minako stopped grinning, though the laughter didn't leave her eyes. "She'll be fine. They don't even die this time." She glanced at Matthew as he came down the hallway. "Why don't you spend some time with Matthew while I go clean up." 

She gestured for Matthew to come closer, and the boy shyly smiled at this version of his father. Malachite smiled back, finally accepting the fact that this handsome boy was his son.  They went to the sitting room, where Matthew had just finished his homework. Malachite automatically checked it for him, and the two started to talk. Matthew told him all about his schoolwork and his life. Malachite found that he genuinely liked this boy, and not just because he was his future son. The boy was intelligent and charming in a way that his father was not. He had Mina's tendency to mix up his phrases, but he had Malachite's serious attitude and calm demeanor.  
  
"Am I…a good father?" Malachite asked hesitantly after a while. 

Matthew gave the matter serious thought, and then answered with honesty, "Well, you're gone a lot, on business with Darien and Serena, but you're always around for Arrow and me. I don't think you've even missed one of my ball games in my entire life, and we know that you love us. I remember that once you cancelled a major trip just to take Arrow and me to Venus for the day."  
  
Malachite blinked. "I took you to Venus? How did I do that?" 

Matthew grinned, much more comfortable with him now. "You had powers, too. You can shoot off lasers and things, and you can fly. It's really cool."  
  
"And I took you to Venus? Do I do that a lot?" 

Matthew shook his head. "Nah, there isn't much to see. Aunt Amy still hasn't finished restoring the entire atmosphere. Besides, Mom won't let us go planet hopping until we're older. You just snuck us that one time 'cause you thought she wouldn't find out. She did, of course. We can't hide anything from Mom."  
  
Malachite laughed, picturing an angry Mina. "Tell me about it. What about you and Arrow? Do you have any powers?" 

Matthew smiled proudly. "Yep. I can do the same things as Mom when she was my age, energy chains and stuff. Arrow," he paused thoughtfully. "We're not really sure what Arrow can do. Mom says she's still too young to be using her powers, but she does sometimes. We know she can vanish and reappear someplace else, just like you, because she disappeared once while Mom was dressing her. She showed up again a second later, floating above Mom's head. It was pretty embarrassing, 'cause we had company that day. Luckily, Mom was able to convince them that it wasn't real."  
  
Minako poked her head in the room. "Bedtime, Matt." 

Matthew groaned. "Ah, mom, we were just starting to have fun!" 

Minako laughed. "In that case, why don't you take Mal to school with you tomorrow? He can substitute for me while I take Arrow for her annual check-up at the doctor's. What do you think, Mal?"  
  
Malachite nodded, seeing Matthew's eager look. "Mom's a gym teacher at the school. She says that it's the only way she can keep an eye on me while I'm there. She doesn't want me turning out like Aunt Serena, falling asleep in school and flunking most of her classes. I can't figure out why, since it's not like it hurt Serena's prospects. She is going to be queen of the Earth one day, after all."  
  
**************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
Malachite followed Matthew through the halls of his school. Matthew pointed out the gym. "Mom already called the school administrator, so they know you're coming. They think you're Dad's younger brother, Mark. Just take the kids outside and let them play volleyball or something. I'm in your last class, so I'll see you then, okay?" 

Malachite nodded, and Matthew waved to a short, blue-haired girl with green eyes. She quickly headed over to them.  "Dad, this is Amelie. She's Sailor Mercury's daughter. Amelie, this is a younger version of my dad." 

Malachite nodded politely to the friendly girl. "You remind me of someone," he said. "You look a little young to be in Matt's grade, though."  
  
The girl nodded, completely at ease with strangers. "I'm only thirteen. I skipped a couple of grades," she said casually. "And I probably remind you of my dad, Zoicite." 

Malachite hesitated, not wanting to sound rude. "Do I know your dad?" he asked. 

The girl grinned. "He's your best friend." 

Malachite nodded. "I take it that he was also one of the generals from the past?"  
  
The girl grinned again, pleased with his swiftness. "Yep." She started to say more, but the bell rang. 

"C'mon, Ames, we're going to be late." 

Amelie rolled her eyes. "You're such a book-worm, Matt." With one last wave, the two teenagers took off down the hallway. Malachite turned and headed for the gym.  
  
**************************************************************************************************************************************

"Finally, it's the last class of the day." Malachite was exhausted. How does Mina do this every day? he wondered.  These kids have more energy than the Energizer bunny. He spotted Matt and Amelie, grateful for the familiar faces. They chatted for a moment while they waited for the rest of the class to finish changing.  
  
"Okay, class," Malachite announced in a loud voice. "I'm your substitute for the day. My name's Mark, and Matt here suggested we play volleyball. Any objections?"  
  
The game was just getting off to a good start when the sky suddenly started to cloud over. Malachite was just beginning to herd the students inside when a gravelly voice called out, "Don't you dare leave, humans. I want your energy!"  
  
Malachite stared across the courtyard at the ugliest creature he'd ever seen. The thing looked like a human that had started to melt. Bits of the creature kept oozing to the ground, setting clumps of grass on fire. The students started to flee back in the direction of the school, but the thing threw gobs of itself at the doorway, which also burst into flames.  
  
"Stop that!" shouted Matthew as he and Amelie ran forward. "Leave them alone, youma!" 

The youma laughed cruelly. "You can't stop me, human. Nobody can stop me!" It threw another glob at Matthew, who easily dodged it.  
  
"You're an idiot," shouted Amelie. "We're not even human!" She and Matthew threw their hands into the air, and two funny sticks similar to Mina's, but with stars instead of balls on the tops, appeared in their hands. "Venus Star Power!" shouted Matthew as his stick sent the familiar ribbons of light around his body. When the light faded, Matthew was wearing a masculine version of Mina's uniform. Instead of a tiara and skirt he wore white pants and a golden prince's circlet.  
  
"Mercury Star Power!" Amelie, too, started to change. Liquid ice was probably the best description for the streams that erupted from her stick. They twisted around her body, leaving a blue and white suit in their place. "You hold the youma off while I put out the flames!" she shouted at Matthew. He nodded, and Amelie ran towards the doorway. "Mercury Bubbles Blare!" she shouted, pointing her hands at the flames licking higher on the school walls. Thousands of tiny bubbles erupted from her hands, encasing the flames within them. As soon as each bubble held a tiny flame inside, they all dissipated in a cloud of steam.  
  
Matthew, meanwhile, was facing down the monster. The boy held out a hand, and shouted, "Venus Love Me Chain Encircle!" A chain comprised of what appeared to be glowing hearts suddenly appeared in his hands. He flung the chain at the monster's torso, wrapping it securely so the creature couldn't move. "I could use a little help, Ames!" he called back to the girl.  
  
She ran forward, shouting, "Mercury Ice Blast!" A stream of that same liquid ice shot from her fingers and encased the monster's feet. The monster continued to struggle, and the ice suddenly shattered. It couldn't break Matthew's chain, but it managed to pull the boy towards it, menace gleaming in its eyes.  
  
Malachite was never really certain about what happened next. One moment, he was watching in disbelief as his future son battled a monster several times his size, and the next he was flinging an ball of yellow energy at the youma. All he knew was that _nobody _treated his son this way!  
  
The ball hit the monster's chest, creating a gaping, smoldering hole where most people kept their hearts. Matthew grinned at his future father. "Way to go, Dad!" he cheered.  
  
The monster, though, was not so pleased. Far from dying from the blast to his chest, the monster seemed to feed on its own rage and grow stronger. It grunted, muscles straining, and broke the boy's chain into a thousand pieces. Malachite tried with all of his might to gather another energy ball, but he couldn't remember how he'd done it in the first place. "Uh oh," muttered Amelie, eyes widened to the size of saucers. "I think we really made it mad."  
  
As the monster pulled a gob of flaming skin from one of its arms, Malachite placed himself between the youma and the children. He might not be able to throw any energy bombs at the creature, but at least he could keep his child safe. The monster lifted the arm, preparing to kill the people before it.  
  
A second chain, much stronger and brighter than Matthew's, suddenly wrapped around the monster's wrist, effectively stopping it. A wider stream of ice also wrapped around the monster's feet, holding the creature in place. Malachite followed the chain to its source, where he saw four winged women floating in a circle above the youma's head.  
  
"Those are _our children_, youma!" Minako cried as she pulled the chain even tighter. 

The blue-haired woman next to her nodded vigorously and sent another stream of ice towards the monster's waist. "Fry him, Jupiter!" she cried.  
  
The brunette in the green uniform shouted, "Jupiter Thunder Shock!" and a lightening bolt shot onto the monster from a crystal clear sky. Stripes of electricity arced across the screaming monster's figure, and he quickly dropped the glob of flaming skin. 

"My turn," sang the raven-haired woman in red. "Mars Fireball Ignite!" A fireball erupted from her hands, completely engulfing the monster. When the flames finally resided, the only trace left of the creature was a tiny pile of ash.  
  
The four women drifted to the earth as the other students watched with terror in their eyes. Minako and the blue-haired woman embraced their children. "We're very proud of you, son," Minako murmured. 

"Yeah," snickered the brunette. ""You make a great couple." She grinned widely.  
  
"Lita!" admonished Minako, though she, too, was grinning brightly. "They're barely teenagers. Let them grow a little before you start planning their wedding." 

Malachite noticed that both Matthew and Amelie were blushing furiously. "Mom!" protested Matthew, but he glanced speculatively at the girl beside him. "Aunt Lita isn't the only person involved in the wedding, you know. Amelie and I get to have a say, too," he quipped. Amelie glared and punched him. Matthew grinned at her as he rubbed his arm subtly.  
  
The blue-haired woman sighed. "Sometimes I wonder if the hospital switched my baby with Raye's," she groaned. 

Minako glanced at the crowd surrounding them. "Look's like your identity is going to be common fodder from now on, son," she murmured. 

Matthew sighed. "I guess it had to happen sometime," he said as he eyed his awed schoolmates. "I think we can handle it."  
  
As he finished speaking, the whirling vortex that was the time gate appeared out of nowhere. A tall woman with green hair and a long staff stepped through, Artemis on her shoulder, and beckoned to Malachite. "It's time to go," she said in a cool voice.  
  
Minako gave Malachite a brief hug. "Thank you for protecting him," she said. 

Malachite smiled. "He's my son, too." He walked over to Matthew and gave him an equally quick hug. "I'll see you in fifteen years," he said. He turned towards the gate. "Say good-bye to Arrow for me," he called as the door slammed shut on his future.


	7. Truth

CHAPTER SEVEN  
  
Mina waited anxiously for Malachite to come home. Setsuna had explained that he'd taken a little trip through time, and that he'd come back as soon as he learned all that he needed. Still, she couldn't help but worry. What if Malachite didn't want her around anymore after learning the truth? He might hate her, and she didn't think she could take that. She loved him too much to cope with seeing hatred in his eyes.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the time gate appeared. Mina whirled to face a serious Artemis and a blank-faced Malachite. She watched him, waiting impatiently for him to react to her presence. "By the Goddess," she finally cried. "Say something!"  
  
Malachite's expression still didn't change. "Why didn't you tell me?" he finally asked in a quiet voice. 

Mina threw her hands into the air in frustration. "What was I supposed to say?" she demanded. "'I'm a reincarnated warrior princess sent to the future to battle the forces of darkness? Oh, and by the way, you're the dead lover that killed me in my past life'? How do you think you would have reacted? I would have been in a looney bin faster than you can say, "Pickles and pineapple juice."  
  
Malachite blinked, but a slow smile spread across his face. "I wouldn't have put you in a looney bin. I couldn't see your beautiful face if I did." 

Mina stared at him, and then with a glad cry threw herself into his arms. "I love you, Malachite," she told him just before she pressed her lips against his. His arms came around her, and he willingly kissed her back.  
  
When they finally broke apart for air, he murmured gravely, "I have a confession of my own to make." 

She pulled away, alarmed by the seriousness of his expression. "What is it, love?" she asked worriedly.  
  
He led her to the couch, pulling her gently down beside him and taking her hands in his. "Do you remember the first day that we met?" She nodded. "Then, do you remember asking me what I'd get out of our wedding?" She nodded again. "I lied," he continued in a low voice. "I didn't marry you so that I could get your father's company." He pulled a business card from his shirt pocket. "I'm a investigator for the American government," he said simply.  
  
He handed her the card. She gazed at it for a moment, and then looked back at him with shock in her eyes. "Why?" she asked. 

He hung his head. "When I was in college, I did a little work for the CIA. I retired many years ago and went into business for myself. I got tired of the constant lying, of people dying because of me. I wanted out."  
  
Mina continued to watch him through heavy-lidded eyes. "What does that have to do with me? With us?" she asked, dreading the answer. 

He sighed. "A few months before our marriage, my old employer called me up. He wanted me to do one last job; he said that I was the only one that could pull it off. Naturally, I didn't want to, but he eventually persuaded me."  
  
"What was the job?" asked Mina, though she already suspected. 

"The CIA had noticed that a whole lot of people were disappearing in Tokyo. There were so many rumors going around that nobody knew what to think. They did, however, know that many of these strange events occurred only in certain areas: The Cherry Hill Temple, the local schools, the Juuban park, etcetera. Our agents also reported that a certain group of people always seemed to be involved. You were one of those." He gulped nervously, but continued.  "Our people contacted your father and arranged the wedding. They'd noticed that you seemed to date a lot of men fitting a particular description, and they figured that I was as close as a person could get to your ideal. I memorized everything that I could about you, and then flew over to meet you in New York. I thought that it would be just another job, that I could marry you, get the information that I needed, and then ditch the whole project." He shrugged sadly. "I never expected you to be you, though."  
  
As he gazed at her with wonder, he murmured, "I loved you from the first. I don't know if it was because I'd loved you before, or if I just fell for you all over again, but I knew that I could never hurt you. As the months went on, I realized that you were involved with something serious, but I couldn't betray you to my superiors. I've been holding them off for months, telling them that you hadn't done anything unusual since I'd met you."  
  
He clammed up, and the silence stretched out between them, creating a gulf wider than an ocean. He wouldn't look at her, so finally she touched gentle fingers to her chin and forced him to look up. "I don't care," was all she said. "All that matters to me is that I love you, and you love me. Even if I had known the truth, even if Raye hadn't told me to go with you, I would still have married you. You're my soul-mate. Besides, the truth about us will eventually come out, but until that happens it will be just the two of us."  
  
He hugged her tightly, his joy indescribable, as he murmured, "Three of us." 

She pulled back, screwing her nose up in confusion. "What?" 

He smiled lovingly at her and placed a gentle hand on her stomach. "Three of us. You're pregnant, Mina."  
  
Mina leaped to her feet. "What?! I can't be pregnant! Except for you, I've never even…" She sat down abruptly, her hands covering her mouth. "Oh, my," she whispered. She stared at him in shock, but joy was already filling her features. "We're going to have a baby!" she laughed shakily as she embraced him yet again. "We're going to have a little boy or girl who looks just like you and me!" He grinned at her, deciding to at least let Arrow be a surprise.  
  
"Wait a minute!" she shouted suddenly. "How'd you know?" He laughed at her. "How far in the future did you go? What are we like? What am I like? How many kids do we have?"  
  
He continued to laugh as she barraged him with a thousand questions. "Gods, I love you," he whispered as he covered her mouth with his in a vain attempt to silence her.


	8. Babies

EPILOGUE  
  
Malachite handed the red-faced, screaming baby to the child's exhausted mother. She took the child gingerly, still awed by this tiny person that they'd made together. "He's beautiful," she whispered, smiling at the baby. "What should we call him?"  
  
Malachite smiled tenderly at his pale wife. "Matthew," he answered. "Let's call him Matthew." The love in his heart for his small family was so great that it made his chest hurt. The baby must have sensed his father's eyes, because he stopped crying and watched them both with suspicious eyes. Malachite grinned, rubbing a gentle finger along the baby's downy cheek.  
  
The door to the hospital room suddenly burst open, and several dozen people stormed inside. They crowded around the bed, happily smiling down on the pale woman and her child. "He's exquisite," murmured Lita as she cooed at the baby. 

Mina smiled back at her friends as they each exclaimed over her baby. "He's _ours_," she murmured as she watched her husband showing off his child. 

Malachite smiled at her once again. "All ours," he agreed happily.

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A.N.: I'm thinking of writing a sequel to this story, but I won't unless I get plenty of constructive comments. I might also base the sequel on Mina's daughter, rather than directly on Mina herself.  
  



End file.
